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LET'S TALK NERDY ECONOMICS STUFF WITH STEVE MOORE! Let's do a quick check on the economy before the election, shall we? Trump adviser Steve Moore joins me at 1!
VETERANS ORGANIZATIONS ARE STRUGGLING THIS YEAR As 2020 rolls on charities have been hit hard as ALL of their fundraising events have evaporated. This is also true of veteran organizations like Eagle's Nest Ranch in Elizabeth. They are dedicated to helping veterans struggling using horses and riding and have great success. But horses and riding are EXPENSIVE and they need cash. They have a virtual fundraiser this week and need your help. I'm talking to Suzy Mackenie today! Find out more about Eagle's Nest Ranch or GIVE THEM MONEY by clicking here.
MASK HARDER, DAMN IT! Governor Polis is threatening another complete shutdown if we don't DO MORE TO STOP A TINY VIRUS. I went to downtown Denver yesterday for my appointment with Downtown's Healthcare. I did not see many other humans, but those that I did see all had masks on. I stopped at a grocery store on the way home. Again, EVERYONE HAD MASKS ON. The real issue here is that lockdowns and masks don't work and they have no clue what else to do. You know why I know lockdowns don't work? Peru. Check this out. Peru instituted the most strict lockdowns IN THE WORLD in March. They lasted for four months. You know what happened? They ended up with one of the WORST outbreaks and WORST death totals in the world. Why? Perhaps because by locking everyone down they just extended the virus? Perhaps because people were not exposed to low levels of the virus which would have given some of the immunity? This article is from September and now they have stabilized those numbers, but did THEY stabilize the numbers or did the virus? It's worth an ask, because their people were locked in their homes for FOUR MONTHS and it didn't stop anything. If you don't want to actually read anything, check out this tweet:
But I'm sure putting all of our remaining restaurants out of business will do it. This time. THE VIRUS IS GONNA DO WHAT THE VIRUS IS GONNA DO.
THERE ARE SIGNS A CIVIL WAR MAY BE IMMINENT And I would love to tell you I think this is all garbage, but I don't. One researcher has used his Political Stability Index to correctly predict the collapse of governments with 80% accuracy. Now he's applying it to the United States and there is much to worry about. Read it here. I'm not talking about this because it's depressing and hopefully not a fait accompli YET. But I want it here for us to discuss later.
A COMMENT ON THE REACTION TO THE CONFIRMATION OF AMY CONEY BARRETT TO THE HIGH COURT I will NOT let the notion that Republicans somehow weaponized the Supreme Court IN AN UNPRECEDENTED MANNER be allowed to stand without comment. Much like Trump is not the CAUSE of hate but the response to hate from the Left for eight years, Barrett's confirmation was only done after a long line of Democrat malfeasance when it comes to the court. Does anyone else remember how the Democrats treated Robert Bork in 1987? Or Justice Thomas in 1991? Or Miguel Estrada in 2001? Just as a point of order, Estrada was deemed unfit to sit on the federal bench by Democrats because of lack of experience. Those same Democrats unanimously voted to approve Elena Kagan, who had never worked as a judge in any capacity. Remember "Memogate'? That was when the Democrats were found to be working with every special interest group on the Left to choose politically palatable justices. Remember when Harry Reid did away with the filibuster at the urging of Democrats in 2013? Remember when he invoked the so-called "nuclear option" to push through Obama nominations. Lest you think this was an ABSOLUTE MUST to get Obama's judge's confirmed, consider this from Wikipedia:
The Democrats' stated motivation for this change was expansion of filibustering by Republicans during the Obama administration, in particular blocking three nominations to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Republicans had asserted that the D.C. Circuit was underworked,[38]and also cited the need for cost reduction by reducing the number of judges in that circuit.[39]At the time of the vote, 59 executive branch nominees and 17 judicial nominees were awaiting confirmation.[38]
Prior to November 21, 2013, in the entire history of the nation there had been only 168 cloture motions filed (or reconsidered) with regard to nominations. Nearly half of them (82) had been during the Obama Administration,[40]but those cloture motions were often filed merely to speed things along, rather than in response to any filibuster.[41]In contrast, there were just 38 cloture motions on nominations during the preceding eight years under President George W. Bush.[42]Most of those cloture votes successfully ended debate, and therefore most of those nominees cleared the hurdle. Obama won Senate confirmation for 30 out of 42 federal appeals court nominations, compared with Bush's 35 out of 52.[42][43]
Regarding Obama's federal district court nominations, the Senate approved 143 out of 173 as of November 2013, compared to George W. Bush's first term 170 of 179, Bill Clinton's first term 170 of 198, and George H.W. Bush's 150 of 195.[42][44]Filibusters were used on 20 Obama nominations to U.S. District Court positions,[45]but Republicans had allowed confirmation of 19 out of the 20 before the nuclear option was invoked. (emphasis mine)
Got that? Republicans had confirmed 19 out of 20 before the nuclear option was invoked. And then there is what Democrats did to Justice Kavanaugh. That was inexcusable in my opinion. And it created a cloud of controversy around a man who by a vast majority of accounts is a good and decent man who has helped women his entire career. Democrats can save their mewling for someone ignorant of history, it doesn't fly with me.
WHY I DON'T LIVE IN CALIFORNIA IN 13 EASY RULES We've talked about Herr Newsome in California giving edicts about Thanksgiving, but my friend Joe consolidated the rules for easy consumption. Here they are:
California's Rules For Your Thanksgiving Gathering
1. No more than 3 households, including your own. If you have 3 married kids, only two of them are allowed to come.
2. Make a list of all attendees and their contact information in case the government wants it.
3. May not be indoors.
4. Your guests may go inside briefly to use the bathroom as long as you sanitize it frequently.
5. Any shade structure must be open on at least 3 sides.
6. Your chairs must be at least 6' apart.
7. You must provide a hand washing or sanitizing station for your guests.
8. You should only use single serving food. (No turkey or bowls of mash potatoes or cranberry salad.)
9. If you must serve out of one dish, your guests may not help themselves.
10. The designated person who is allowed to serve you must wash or sanitize their hands frequently and wear a face covering.
11. Everyone must wear a face covering at all times, except briefly while you eat (but you must sit 6' apart while you eat), or if you need to use an inhaler or for other urgent medical needs.
12. Keep the gathering to 2 hours or less.
13. You should not sing or chant. Physical exertion is warned against.
Got that? I guess we're going to know which kids are the favorites this year.
AND NOW, SOME HOT DOG FOOD PORN Because OMG these look amazing.
ARE YOU THINKING FOR YOURSELF OR JUST GETTING SWEPT ALONG? This is a very interesting article about something I've never heard of called "availability cascades". The gist is that humans are wired to pay attention to whatever everyone else is doing and just go along. This article explains that it's a protective mechanism in a world where one person can't possibly know everything they need to know so they rely on others to help them out. But it's gotten dangerous as of late. From the article:
The news has many stories of gun crime and of people declaring that the United States is facing a new epidemic of gun violence. In fact, homicide and other gun crime has fallen by about half since the early 1990s. As a 2013 report from the Pew Research Center put it: “Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware”. A misinformed 56 percent of Americans believed gun crime to be higher than it was 20 years before; 26 percent thought gun crime had stayed the same. Only 12 percent knew it was lower.
Today, people who know little about American history are bombarded with assertions that slavery is a uniquely American evil caused by capitalism. Millions believe these claims. In actuality, slavery was endemic globally throughout human history, including in the North American Indian tribes. For example, as Andrés Reséndez describes in The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America(2016), the economy of the Comanche empire, based in central Texas, was based on human predation and the slave trade; the Comanches sold captured Indians, Mexicans, New Mexicans, and other Americans to any willing buyer.
So do we cancel the Comanches now? Read the article here and ask yourself how much of this applies to YOU and YOUR world view. I know it affects mine. Gotta work on that. I'm trying to get Dave Kopel, a local guy who is one of the authors, on the show this week. It's THAT interesting.
DIET DRINKS ARE LINKED TO HEART DISEASE But correlation does not equal causation, even if this study wants you to think it does. The big story here is that drinking sugary beverages, including fruit juice, is linked to premature death at a pretty alarming rate, especially for women.
IT'S WEIRD HOW COVID ONLY SPREADS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS At least that's the implied assertion of the teacher's unions fighting the re opening of schools although many private and charter schools have already demonstrated how to open safely. Read more here.
FAIR AND BALANCED INDEED A quick check of network news coverage of Donald Trump is 92% negative. From the article:
The study found that Trump received 839 minutes of coverage with a whopping 92.4 percent of them being negative, while only 269 total minutes of airtime were devoted to Biden and only 34 percent were considered negative.
So not only does he get WAY more coverage, he gets WAY more negative coverage. This is my shocked face.
THOSE ALIENS ARE PRACTICALLY NEXT DOOR! And I don't mean an alien in the sense of from somewhere else other than the US, I mean actually ALIEN aliens. And they are so much closer than we think.
AND NOW, TINKLING THE IVORIES FOR AN ELEPHANT
REMEMBER WHEN LATE NIGHT TV DID JOKES ABOUT EVERYONE? Johnny Carson joked about everyone.